He lost his business soon after the stroke, but was keen to get back to work as soon as possible to rebuild his self-esteem. After working as a driver in the voluntary sector, Andy now works part-time in a betting shop.

Cutting out salt

He is now a lot more careful about what he eats, has cut down on takeaways, and greatly reduced the amount of salt in his diet.

"I don't add salt to my food," he says. "If I feel like a snack, I'll have fruit."

He says he eats his meals more slowly, which leaves him more satisfied. "I always aim to be the last to finish," he says. "It means I eat less but feel fuller."

Andy believes his excessive consumption of salt helped lead to his stroke. "My diet and lack of exercise contributed greatly to my stroke," he says.

"I wish I had known I had high blood pressure. I would have done something about it, and would probably have prevented the stroke."

Some good has come out of Andy's experience, though: he may have saved his younger brother from a stroke.

"After my stroke, he went to have his blood pressure checked and found it was too high. Now he's addressing that."